Foster the Girl
by Sapphire Tornado
Summary: Maya's mother is taken to jail, which means Maya needs someone to care for her. Her caseworker needs to track down a family member willing to take her, but for now she's going to live with a foster family. Slash
1. Chapter 1

Maya leaned tiredly against the lockers, ignoring Riley's babbling about some dream she had. She was losing her patience. Riley had go on about it the entire way to school and it didn't seem like she was stopping anytime soon.

"Riley, I get." Maya finally snapped.

"Sorry." Riley said, hanging her head. She immediately popped back up. "I forgot-" Maya gave her a stern look. Riley quickly explained, "Not about the dream. You know how the new _Trailer Park Trolls_ book is being released tomorrow?"

Maya perked up. Trailer Park Trolls was her favorite book series; in fact it was one of the only things that she actually read willingly. "Right. How could I have forgetten?"

Riley shrugged. "Well my parents said we could go to the release, if it's okay with your mom that is."

Maya smiled brightly. "I'm sure she'd be okay with it. I mean… she's going out with friends tomorrow anyway."

"Oh and I heard the author's supposed to be there." Riley said as they started walking to class.

Maya looked at Riley in disbelief. "You're kidding." Riley shrugged, holding her binder closer to her chest. "Nobody's ever seen him before. That would be epic." Maya said enthusiastically, taking her seat next to Riley.

"I know" Riley whispered excitedly.

The conversation ended as class started, another boring day of things that Maya really didn't care about. As their math teacher droned on about how important negative numbers were going to be Maya couldn't help but roll her eyes. She zoned out for the rest of class, thinking about the book release.

In fact, for the rest of the day that was all that she thought about. Maya had started reading the series when it first came out two years ago. The stories had been something of a godsend. Her mother had started working longer hours and leaving her home alone for longer periods of time, but it didn't matter because even if Riley was too busy for her the characters in the book were there for her.

They made her laugh and cry and feel things that she'd never admit to. Maya especially related to the main character, Scummy. He was a troll with aspirations to be better than the rest of the trolls in the trailer park. He wanted to escape the lives his parents were living and be something more, a feeling Maya knew very well.

Maya was thinking so deeply about the upcoming book that she completely missed Mr. Matthews talking to her.

"Maya!" He said louder, standing in front of her desk.

Maya looked up at him surprised. "Sorry, what?" She asked, slightly dazed.

"I asked if you were paying attention. Obviously you weren't." Mr. Matthews looked at her thoughtfully. "Are you okay Maya?"

"Yeah." It was a lie of course; Maya was exhausted. Her mother had gone out drink with friends after her shift last night and she came home very drunk. Maya had to help her mother until very early in the morning, which meant Maya went without sleep.

"Are you sure?" Mr. Matthews asked. He always seemed to know when something was wrong.

"Yes, sir." Maya said, choosing to keep her problems to herself. It's not like it happened every night, just sometimes. Maya didn't think her mother was hurting anyone. Maya hadn't seen a significant change in her mother. She still went to work, put Maya's needs ahead of her own, and tried to prove that she was trying.

"Okay then. Just try to pay attention. Okay?" Mr. Matthews let the subject drop.

Maya nodded as the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. She ran out of the class with the rest of her classmates, stopping in front of her locker to meet up with Riley.

"You okay Maya?" Riley asked, walking up beside her. "You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?"

"Of course Rils." Maya said, throwing an arm around Riley's shoulder. "You are my best friend after all."

"Good." Riley said, pulling Maya into a hug. "Now let's go home."

()()()()

After getting home, Maya went straight to bed. She would deal with her homework in the morning, or maybe she'd get lucky and Riley would do it again. She really hoped it was the latter because the minute her head hit the pillow she didn't wake up until her alarm went off the next morning.

As Maya was getting ready for school she realized that she needed to ask her mother if she could go out with Riley to night for the midnight release.

"Hey Mom!" Maya called out the bathroom door.

"Yeah Maya?" Her mother popped her head out of her bedroom. It was her day off so she looked slightly disheveled, throwing Maya for a loop.

"The new Trailer Park Trolls book is coming out tonight at midnight." Maya said nonchalantly.

Her mom brushed a tired hand through her messy blonde hair. "And you want to go?" She asked.

"Yeah, Riley's parents offered to take both of us… and probably Farkle too." Maya said, silently pleading that her mother would say yes.

Her mother sighed deeply, smiling at her fondly. "Alright, but they have to pick you up here. I'm going to be out with my friends tonight."

"I know, thank you." Maya said, kissing her mother's cheek in a rare moment of affection. She ran into her room to text Riley.

"You're going to be late for school if you don't get going soon." Her mother called after her. "And be safe tonight."

Maya ran back into the small living room-kitchen area, grabbing her backpack. "Will do!" Maya called, running out the door.

()()()()

It was only eight but Maya already felt like she was going to burst. She couldn't wait to get down to the bookstore, something she would never say under any other circumstances. Mr. Matthews and Riley wouldn't be coming to get her for another hour though. Mr. Matthews had an important PTA meeting that he had to be at and Mrs. Matthews was working late on a case. So she just had to be patient, even if she didn't want to be.

Maya sat on the couch, throwing her head back in frustrated excitement. She really wanted to meet the author. He was a mysterious man and no one had ever met him before. He never did book signings or interviews or anything. That didn't matter to Maya, all that matter was that he wrote something that she could relate to so personally.

A knock at the door pulled Maya from her thoughts. She looked at the clock in confusion. It was too early to be Mr. Matthews. Maya rolled her eyes as she realized it was probably her mother back from hanging out with her friends. She was probably tipsy and couldn't find her keys again.

Maya got up and opened the door, the chain lock still in place. Through the crack she didn't see her mother but two large police officers and a sharply dressed woman behind them.

Maya looked at the officers warily, not really able to see the women. She noted that they were both tall, with one being taller than the other. She was able to make out the nameplate on the taller one's chest. He was called Bates.

Officer Bates was broad and muscular. His skin was dark, almost the same shade as his chocolate brown eyes. He was bald but Maya couldn't tell if that was by choice or not. The other officer was lean and less muscular than his partner. His skin was so pale, as if he rarely saw the sunlight. From what Maya could see his eyes were an almost grey color, which complemented his light brown hair nicely.

Officer Bates was the one that acknowledged her first. "Maya Hart?" He asked gently.

"Why?" Maya said, unsure why there were police officers at her door. She had done anything wrong recently, well not that wrong.

The shorter policeman came into better focus, allowing Maya to see his nameplate. His name was Cleary.

Officer Cleary showed Maya his badge. "We're here about your mother. I'm Officer Cleary and this is my partner Officer Bates." He indicated the man behind him. "Can we come in?"

Maya scrutinized the badge. It seemed to be real. "I'm not supposed to let people into the apartment when mom's not here."

"We just want to talk." The tall policeman said kindly.

Maya nodded. She began wonder what could have happened to her mother to have the police at their apartment. She closed the door and unlocked the chain before letting the officers and the woman in.

"What happened to Mom?" Maya asked, noting the solemn faces of the officers.

"There was an accident…" Said Officer Cleary.

"Is she okay?" Maya asked.

Officer Bates stepped in. "She wasn't hurt much at all, but she hurt someone else."

"Mom doesn't drive. She doesn't have a license." Maya was confused; she thought they meant a car accident.

"We're aware of that." Officer Cleary said. "But she was driving when the car struck a young man."

"He's in critical condition at the moment. Your mother was arrested for drunk driving." Officer Bates said, turning his attention to the sharply dressed woman. "Miss Mahal would like to talk to you."

Now that Maya could see her, she realized that Miss Mahal was a petite woman of Indian descent. She seemed to be a young woman but her hazel eyes seemed to belong to someone much older, as if she'd seen things that aged her horribly. Her ebony hair was pulled into a simple braid that hung around her left shoulder.

"Hi Maya, you can call me Chantal. I'm your caseworker." The woman said softly, extending her hand to the girl.

Maya ignored her hand. "Mom's in jail?" She asked in a daze.

"That's why I'm here sweetie. She couldn't give us the name of any relatives who could take you tonight, so I have a foster family lined up." Chantal said as gently as possible.

"But I… Mom…" Maya couldn't get a coherent thought out.

"Why don't you pack a bag, sweetheart. Just for a few nights, while I locate your family." Chantal said, standing up.

"When will Mom get out?" Maya asked, leading Chantal to her room on autopilot.

"That depends."

"On what?" Maya looked at her, confusion etched in her eyes.

"If the man dies." Chantal didn't make eye contact as she said it.

Maya packed her bag not even noticing what she was doing, just taking the clothes and things that Chantal handed her. She followed Chantal back to where the officers were waiting for them.

"I'm supposed to meet Hunter Shaw tonight." Maya said not really caring about that anymore.

"You're actually going to meet a friend of mine's husband. He's going to bring you back to their house. You'll be their first foster child." Chantal said, taking Maya's hand comfortingly.

"What's their name?" Maya asked.

"Shawn Hunter."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: It might be a little rough. I've only edited it once, but I wanted to be able get it up today. Please enjoy anyways.**

()()()()

Shawn Hunter sighed, taking a seat in Chantal's over-cluttered office. He wondered how she ever found anything. There were stacks of overfilled manila folders precariously placed all around the room, there were photos and loose papers strewn across the desk and floor, and toys scattered on the floor probably for young children to play with while Chantal spoke with foster parents.

Shawn stood up when he heard the door open. He turned in time to see Chantal leading in a blonde girl with lost eyes; he assumed this must be Maya.

"Shawn, thank you." Chantal said, looking frazzled. "I'm sorry about-"

Shawn cut her off. "Don't worry about it. It was more my agent's thing any way."

Chantal smiled at him, placing her hands on Maya's shoulders. "This is Maya Hart, the young lady I was telling you about."

"Hi Maya, nice to meet you." Shawn said, getting down to eyelevel with her and extending his hand to her. "I'm Shawn Hunter, you can call me Shawn."

Maya shook his hand but with no real energy behind it, still not speaking. Shawn felt bad for her. It wasn't easy to have a parent there one minute and have them gone the next, that much he knew.

"Why don't you sit down Maya?" Chantal said gently. "Shawn and I are going to fill out some paper work."

Maya plopped into the chair Shawn had just been sitting in. Shawn watched her out of the corner of his eye while Chantal walked him through what needed to be signed. He could see that she was exhausted and he just wanted to let her get some sleep.

They finished the paperwork as quickly as possible. When it was done Chantal bent down to talk with Maya. "I'm going to come check in on you tomorrow afternoon, okay?" Maya nodded. "I'm going to call the school and tell them you won't be there tomorrow. Is that okay with you?" Maya nodded again. "Alright, have a good night Maya." She squeezed Maya's hands comfortingly.

"Thank you." Shawn said, taking Maya's bags from Chantal. He helped Maya up from the chair and started leading her toward the door.

"Thank you. See you tomorrow." She said with a smile. "Oh, and tell that husband of yours hello." Chantal called after them as an after thought.

"Of course." Shawn replied with a small laugh, leading Maya toward the parking lot.

()()()()

Shawn noticed that it was nearing nine-thirty as he started to pull out of the parking lot. At least he'd be getting home earlier than he'd originally thought.

"So… where do you live?" Shawn looked at Maya in surprise. It was the first thing she'd said to him all night.

"Armonk," He said, watching the road. "It's only about an hour away."

Maya nodded absentmindedly, not really listening. Her head rested on the passenger side window. "You have a husband?"

"Yes." Shawn said with a small nod.

"Cool" Maya said, still seeming slightly out of it. "I'm tired."

"Why don't you try getting a little sleep?" Shawn suggested, turning on the classical music channel.

Maya nodded, leaning on the window more heavily. She let her eyes close and she allowed herself to relax. Shawn could see the stress leave her as she fell asleep. This was a lot for anyone to take in, let alone a twelve year old.

For a while the world seemed quiet and calm, the only sounds coming from the radio, Maya's soft breathing, and the engine of the car. As is true with anything, it couldn't last forever. Shawn's phone began to vibrate. He ignored it at first, but it started to ring again and again.

"You can answer it." Maya said, not opening her eyes. "I don't care."

"Thanks" Shawn said. He said turning on the car's Bluetooth and answering the phone.

"Took you long enough, Hunter." Said a gruff voice angrily.

"What do you want Hector?" Shawn asked, keeping his voice low.

"I wanted you at the book signing tonight. What's this about you not coming? Are you f-" Hector started ranting.

"Watch it." Shawn said warningly. "There's a kid in the car."

"I don't care if it's the goddamn Queen of England. What right to you have to bail on me?" Hector was getting angry, which meant his voice was slowly going up a few octaves.

Shawn saw Maya trying not to laugh. He smiled himself. "As I told your secretary, I have a family emergency."

"That's no excuse!" The agent yelled, causing Shawn and Maya to jump. "I have been planning this signing for months."

"Family comes first." Shawn was getting annoyed. "And I didn't want to do the stupid book signing anyway. It was your stupid idea."

"If you think that my ideas are stupid then maybe I should drop you as a client." Hector said cockily, clearly thinking he'd won.

"Maybe you should." Shawn said in a sickeningly sweet voice. "In fact, I think we should terminate our contract. What do you think?"

Hector didn't response, but they could hear the sounds of him trying to make words. Shawn saw that Maya was desperately trying not to laugh now.

"Well Hector?" Shawn taunted him. "It was your idea after all."

"That's it, you'll never be published again!" Hector said angrily, slamming the phone.

Shawn rolled his eyes. "That's what he thinks. Sorry about that Maya."

Maya shook her head, "It's okay, he was funny." She looked at her fingers for a second. "So… you're name is Hunter and you had a book signing tonight?"

"Yes, I'm Hunter Shaw. It's a penname." Shawn said evenly.

Maya perked up. "You're my favorite author." She said excitedly. "I really relate to Scummy."

Shawn smiled sadly. "I figured he'd be the character that you relate to most. Most of those stories are based off my childhood."

"Really?" Maya's eyes got wide, but even her excitement could stop her from yawning.

"How 'bout I tell you more later and for now you get some more sleep. We'll be there soon enough." Shawn said gently.

"But-" Maya started to protested, but her eyelids had other plans and started to droop.

"Later, I promise." Shawn laughed slightly at her attempts to fight her basic needs.

She gave in, letting her eyes close and sleep take over once again. Shawn smiled at her curled up form in the front seat. The rest of the ride was quiet and calm, just as the first half had been.

It was just after ten-thirty when Shawn pulled into the driveway of his family's three-story home. He gently woke Maya, grabbing her bag and leading her inside. It was extremely quiet, which meant all the kids were asleep.

"I'll show you to your room." Shawn said, showing Maya to the stairs.

She followed him as he showed her where the bathroom and which bedroom was hers. Shawn opened the door to the guest room, which had been made up specifically for her.

"Wow" Maya whispered, face-planting onto the bed.

"I'll be downstairs if you need anything." Shawn said, going to the door. "Unless you want to meet everyone tonight?"

"No thanks" Maya said, sinking further into the soft surface.

"Tomorrow then" Shawn said, closing the door on his way out.

He heard a muffled thank you as the door clicked behind him. He smiled to himself, before checking in on his children as well. After he was sure they were asleep he made his way into the living room. Everyone was waiting for him there.

"How'd it go?" Jack asked, pulling his attention away from his wife, Rachel.

"Fine." Shawn said shortly.

"How's she?" Eric asked, pulling Shawn into his lap.

"Traumatized, I think, but you're the social worker so you'd probably know better." Shawn said, leaning back on Eric.

"It's not easy to find out your parent's in jail." Eric held Shawn a little tighter.

"Tell me about." Shawn and Jack said in unison.

Morgan hand Shawn the plate of cookies from the table. "Well at least she's okay." She said.

Shawn nodded. "I hope for Maya's sake that man her mother hit doesn't die."

Eric squeezed him comfortingly. "Sorry to tell you this babe, but Chantal called about twenty minutes ago. The guy didn't make it."

()()()()

**A/N: There will be more background on the Eric/Shawn story and why Jack, Rachel, and Morgan are all there. I will let you know that they live there, even though it's Eric and Shawn's place.**

**Thanks for Reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry, I originally forgot to put author's notes on. It might be a little rough again. I've been sick this week, and I wanted to be able get it up today. Please enjoy anyways.**

()()()()

Maya woke up in a bed much larger than her own, in a bedroom much larger than her own. The memories of last night came rushing back to her. She sighed deeply, thinking about her mother. How could she have been so stupid? Maya fell back onto the bed groaning loudly. She was mad and with good right.

There was noise coming from downstairs and Maya could smell something cooking. She grabbed a clean pair of clothes and changed in the bathroom. As soon as she deemed herself presentable she went downstairs. Maya followed the noise into the kitchen.

It wasn't an overly large kitchen but that didn't stop there from being a lot of people in it. Maya counted five adults and six children, including the infant in the baby sling. She stood in the doorway watching them.

She noticed Shawn first. He was hard to miss he had a baby sling on and was bouncing slightly, making the baby giggle. A brown haired man with facial hair came up next to him to make funny faces at the baby; she realized that must be his husband. Another brown haired man who looked like a businessman was dancing with a red haired woman who was taller than him. The blond woman was the only one actually cooking. There were five little kids of varying ages gathered around her feet asking for the cookies.

"You can come in sweetie." The blond woman said, turning to face Maya. "We don't bite." She seemed to think for a second. "Well maybe Kyle." She put hand on the little boy with red hair.

"I'll introduce everyone." Shawn said, motioning her to come in.

Maya walked cautiously into the kitchen, standing next to Shawn.

"So, you know me." Shawn said with a small smile. "Let's start with the littlest of us." He took the baby out of the sling. "This is Eden, she's six months old." Maya looked at little blond girl as she started at her with wide green eyes.

"I'm Eric" The man Maya assumed was Shawn's husband said. "I'm Shawn husband." She was right. "Those little blond monsters-" He pointed at the little boy and girl who were pushing at each other. "Are our twins Lyric and Levi."

"I'm Lyric." The little girl said. "And I'm this many." She held up one hand so all of her fingers were up.

"That's awesome." Maya said sweetly. "My friend's brother is five too."

"Cool, so's my brother." She said, trying to hold Levi's hand.

"I Jack, Shawn's half-brother." The businessman said, extending his hand for her to shake.

"He lives in the basement." Shawn said, despite the dirty look Jack sent his way.

"I'm his wife, Rachel." The redhead said, with a small wave. She pulled the brown haired girl and red haired boy toward her. "These are our kids."

"I'm Charlie and I'm seven." The girl said, bouncing slightly. "And Kyle's my brother but he's only three." She nodded like that meant something really important.

"Charlie's a nice name." Maya smiled at the girl.

"It's short for Charlotte but Charlotte's an old lady name because I knew an old lady named Charlotte." The adults in the room laughed at Charlie's comment.

"I'm Morgan, Eric's sister." The blond woman said, still laughing slightly.

"She lives in the attic with her son." Shawn said, ignoring the sour look Morgan shot him.

She pulled the brown haired little boy toward her. "And this little guy-"

The boy cut her off. "I'm Benjamin Matthews. And I'm four." He held up three fingers, which Morgan fixed for him.

"Matthews?" Maya looked at Shawn and Eric.

"Yeah, that's my last name." Eric said

Maya nodded, not thinking anything of it. "Cool, I know a Matthews family." She missed the look Shawn and Eric exchange.

"We're making cookies if you want to join us." Morgan changed the subject.

"Uh…" Maya looked at the people. "Okay." She shrugged.

"Great" Shawn said, smiling at her. He looked at Eric and seemed to remember something. "Right, Chantal should be here around one-thirty to talk to you."

"Awesome" Maya said slightly sarcastically. She wasn't really looking forward to this meeting, but maybe baking would it off her mind.

()()()()

Chantal arrived at the Hunter-Matthews house a little after one-thirty. Maya felt herself getting nervous about what Chantal was going to tell her. She waited patiently while the social worker talked some things over with Eric and Shawn, smiling when Chantal turned back to her.

"I'm going to take you out for lunch." Chantal said, motioning toward the door. "We have some things that I think it would be best to discuss in private."

Maya nodded following the social worker out to the car. She slid into the passengers seat and waited for Chantal to start the car.

"What do you like to eat Maya?" Chantal asked pleasantly, finally starting the car.

Maya shrugged, "Don't care."

"Okay then, pizza?" Chantal asked, pulling out onto the road.

"Fine"

The ride to the pizza place was quiet and slightly awkward. Maya could Chantal wasn't saying something and she knew it wasn't going to be good.

Only after the car was park, they were seat, and pizza was order, did Chantal say anything to her. "Maya, I don't have very good news, sweetheart."

Maya's stomach dropped. "What happened?"

"The young man your mother hit last night… he died. I'm sorry to say, but his family is going to fight for the maximum sentence. Especially since your mother was driving drunk _and_ without a license." Chantal pulled a file out of her bag, placing it on the table.

"How old was he?" Maya asked cautiously, thinking of another family in so much pain over the loss of their son.

"He'd just turned nineteen, he was attending NYU. But there's more that we need to talk about Maya." Chantal tried to steer the conversation away from the topic.

"No" Maya said defiantly. "My mother killed a teenager, he was only in college." Maya was getting angry. "How could she have been so careless? That could have been anybody. It could have been Riley, or Lucas, or Farkle, or… or… me." She whispered the last word as tears rolled down her cheeks. "She didn't even think about me."

Chantal moved to hold Maya against her chest, letting the girl cry. Chantal brushed a hand through Maya's blond hair. "She wasn't thinking about anyone other than herself."

Maya pulled back wiping at her eyes. "She was selfish."

"I'm so sorry sweetheart, I wish I could make things better." Chantal said, sliding back to her seat. She thought for a second before looking through her purse. "Right, a girl came into my office this morning with her mother and gave me this." She pulled out a copy of the third _Trailer Park Trolls_ book.

"Riley" Maya said, taking the book. A small smile began to form at the thought of her friend's kindness.

"She told me they're your favorite books."

"They are." Maya said, reading the book description.

"You have a really great friend. She brought it right over-" Chantal was cut off.

"After her dentist appointment." Maya laughed sadly. "But how did she know."

"I called the school and explained your situation, being in a temporary foster home and all." Chantal said, watching Maya's expression.

"Her father's my teacher. He must've called her." Something dawned on Maya. She felt her pockets, trying to think. "I forgot my phone in the apartment." She said, almost knocking over the waiter as she stood up.

"Calm down" Chantal pulled her back to the table. "I will bring it for you tomorrow, okay?"

Maya nodded. "What's tomorrow?" She asked, calming down enough to grab some pizza.

"I'm going to let you make a big decision." Chantal pulled some paperwork out of the file.

"Cool" Maya half said through a mouthful of pizza. "'Bout what?"

"We contacted your father this morning about taking you in."

Maya swallowed hard, putting the pizza down. "And?"

"He told us that he's not financially stable enough to take care of you at the moment. There was a lot more but I'm sure you don't want to hear about that stuff." Chantal said, showing Maya some paperwork.

Maya didn't care. "What does that mean? Mom in jail, absentee dad, where do I go?"

Chantal put away the paperwork. "That's where you get to make a decision." She looked Maya in the eye. "I know you haven't know them long, but you can choose to stay with the Hunter-Matthews family and go to a new school or you can go live with a foster family in New York City and continue attending John Quincy Adams Middle School."

"I don't know." Maya said, not being able to fully process everything. "I don't know." She repeated.

"I'm going to give you until tomorrow because we really want you to get settled in a more permanent position. If you don't know I'll choose something, okay?" Chantal said, smiling as Maya nodded. "Good."

The rest of their meeting was mostly Chantal getting background information for her file and Maya asking questions about what Chantal did. By the time they were done, Chantal had a nearly full file and they eaten most of the pizza. Chantal drove Maya back to the Hunter-Matthews place with the promise that she would remember to bring back the phone.

Eric was waiting at the door for her. "How was it?" He asked, waving goodbye to Chantal.

"It was okay." Maya said, wandering into the living room and plopping on the couch. "Found out my dad doesn't want me."

"I'm sure that's not true." Eric followed her into the room. "Maybe he's just having a hard time financially."

"Yeah right" Maya rolled so that she was sitting up right on the couch. "He took most of the money when he left my mom and I."

"At least he didn't take your home too." Shawn said from the doorway.

"What?" Maya looked at him in confusion.

Shawn sat down next to her. "When I was just a little older than you I lived with my dad and occasionally… my mom." He paused a little on mom but continued. "My mom ran off with our trailer, where we lived, and my dad decided to go track her down."

"Wow" Maya said, looking in awe at this.

"I lived with my English teacher for awhile." Shawn said

"Mr. Turner" Eric said, laughing. "Remember the time Cory and Feeny shoved him and I on that rollercoaster."

"Yeah" Shawn said with a laugh. "How could I forget? It was televised."

Maya smiled, listening to the men exchanging stories about Mr. Turner and John Adams High School. She realized that this house had a familiar vibe to it. It was so much like Riley's home. Maya laughed as Jack walked into the room, adding some story about their time as roommates. She didn't even notice Lyric and Levi come in until they crawled in her lap.

"Are you gonna stay?" Lyric asked, her eyes going wide.

"Awe you?" Levi asked, his lisp prominent.

Maya smiled at the two them and the adults still telling stories. "I think I will."

()()()()

**A/N: I didn't get into the history yet, I will soon, not yet though. Next chapter will be Riley's chapter, so we get Riley's point-of-view.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry this is later than usually, I had a lot of schoolwork to do and I have to put school first. I'm still kind of busy so I may not be able to post consistently but I'm going to try. Please enjoy this chapter.**

()()()()

"What is it Riley?" Cory asked, as Riley sighed deeply for the fourth time in two minutes. He looked at her sitting among the empty desks and checked the clock. "Shouldn't you be out in the hallway? You know, avoiding the classroom until you have to be here."

Riley ignored his questions. "Do you think Maya will come back?"

Cory looked at his daughter's despondent face and walked over to her, kneeling to her level. "I'm sure everything'll work out in the end." He ran a hand comfortingly through her hair.

He stood up as the bell rang, going back to stand at the front of the class. The students filed in, chatting amongst themselves as they took their seats.

"Hear anything from Maya yet?" Farkle asked, taking his seat behind Riley.

"No" Riley said, turning slightly to face him. "You?"

Farkle shook his head. He turned to Lucas. "You hear from Maya?"

"No" Lucas shook his head. "I don't think I'd be her first contact either though."

Farkle shrugged. "You never know."

Cory clapped his hands together to get the classes attention. "Alright class, today we're going to talk about Ancient-"

He was cut off by a knock at the door. The principal, Mr. Fairfield walked in followed shortly by Maya's caseworker, the one Riley had met yesterday.

"Sorry to interrupt Mr. Matthews." Mr. Fairfield said politely.

Riley suppressed a giggle at how short the man was next to her father and the caseworker. Her father shot her a warning look. "It's quite alright. We were just about to start."

"Good, I caught you before the lesson started then." He gestured to the woman behind him. "Maya Hart's social worker would like to speech to the students for a few moments."

"Of course," Cory said gesturing to the front of the classroom.

He nodded at Cory before turning to the social worker. "Alright Miss Mahal, when you're down here come down to my office and I'll get you that paperwork." He said, walking out the door.

"Thank you." She called after him. She turned back to face the class. "Hello students, I'm Chantal. One of your classmates, Maya asked me to come talk to you today."

"Is Maya coming back?" Riley asked, visibly excited.

Chantal smiled at her sadly. "Actually Maya's transferring schools. She's going to be attending the school closer to her foster family's home."

"I thought Maya'd come home." Riley's face dropped. "Can't her Gammy take care of her?"

"I'm afraid her grandmother's been moved to a nursing home." Chantal said, looking to Cory for help. He shrugged.

"Can we still talk to her?" Farkle asked

"Of course. She wanted me to let you all know that she still wants to stay in contact and that she's very happy in her foster home." Chantal smiled at the class.

"How far away is she?" Lucas asked

"About an hour, but she is the one who must tell you where she lives." Chantal stopped Farkle and Lucas' question before they could ask it.

"Why didn't you put her with a family around here?" Farkle asked accusingly.

"This family is considered an emergency drop-off, which means they take children who have to be placed immediately." Chantal said calmly. "They were the only ones left in my contact list with an open room."

"She's never coming back." Riley said hopelessly.

Chantal bent down, trying to calm her. "I'm sure she'll text you as soon as she can."

"She going to move on, make new friends, and forget all about me." Riley wailed, throwing her head down on her arms.

Chantal backed away, letting Cory step in and try to calm his daughter. "Well, Maya just wanted all of you to know that she's happy in her new home. Thank you for letting me interrupt." Chantal waved as she walked out of the classroom.

After Chantal left Cory let the students have a break for the rest of class, while he tried to make Riley feel better. It didn't work. He let them go when the bell rang, hoping that Riley would start to feel better as the day went on.

She didn't, the rest of the day Riley was in a fog of sadness. She didn't pay attention to her teachers or the other students in the hallways, Lucas and Farkle had to keep an extra close eye on her. She just moped.

Farkle and Lucas tried their best to cheer her up and hide their disappointment that Maya wouldn't be around as much. By the end of the day they realized they couldn't do much to help.

"Why don't we walk you home today?" Lucas suggested, trying to catch Riley's attention.

Riley just sighed, leaning more heavily against the locker she was standing next to.

"It'll be nice." Farkle said, trying to feign happiness. "You can spend some more time with us. I mean we're friends, right?"

Riley sighed again, starting to slide down the locker. Lucas caught her before she reached the floor.

"I think we'd feel better if we could walk you home." Farkle said, watching Lucas steady her.

Riley nodded, allowing them to walk her all the way to her building.

"I'm okay here guys." Riley said. "You've been the best today. I couldn't ask for better friends." She hugged them both and walked up to her family's apartment.

Her emotions were at the boiling point as she threw the door open.

"Honey what's wrong?" Topanga asked, looking up from where she was coloring with Auggie.

Riley slammed the door. "Maya's never coming back!" She screamed, faceplanting onto the couch.

Topanga got up and went over to comfort her daughter. "Why would you say that?" She asked, kneeling beside Riley's head.

Riley spoke into the couch cushion her face was pressed into. "Riley, sweetheart I can't understand you." Topanga said gently.

"I said that Maya's caseworker told us she was changing schools." Riley lifted her head, her teary eyes now visible. "She's never coming back." Riley threw head back down dramatically.

"I'm sure that doesn't mean you can't see each other anymore." Topanga rubbed Riley's back comfortingly.

Riley turned her head, so see was face outwards. "She moved so far though. I mean the caseworker said it was an hour away yesterday. That's too far a distance for Maya and I to be."

"It's not so bad sweetie. Did you father and I ever tell you about the time I moved away?" Topanga asked, taking a seat on the edge of the couch.

Riley sat up to face her mother. "Yeah, but you came back."

"I know, and maybe Maya will too." Topanga smiled hopefully at her daughter.

"But you had family who could take you in. Maya doesn't her only grandparent left, her grandmother is sick and in a nursing home, her dad is in some unknown place, and both her parents are only children." Riley looked devastated.

"Well maybe you two can visit each other instead." Topanga said, trying to find a silver lining.

"If her foster parents let me." Riley pouted.

"Well-" Topanga was cut off by Cory entering the apartment.

"Daddy!" Auggie said, throwing himself into his father's arms.

"Auggie!" Cory said, picking him up. "What are the ladies talking about?"

"Riley's sad 'cause Maya's gone and Mommy's trying to make her happy again." Auggie filled his father in.

"Oh yeah," Cory put Auggie down. "Why don't you go play in your room for a little while Auggie."

"You just want me out of the room." Auggie said knowingly.

"Would you do it for a dollar?" Cory asked, pulling out a dollar.

"Alright!" Auggie yelled, grabbing the dollar and running to his room.

"You shouldn't bribe him like that." Topanga gave Cory a look of disapproval.

Cory shrugged. "It's only a dollar." Trying to change the topic he asked, "How are you feeling Riley?"

"Like my soul has been ripped in two." Riley said, staring ahead with blank eyes.

Cory looked at her, slightly confused by her new attitude. Topanga stepped in. "Riley, as I was about to say before your father interrupted. We used to have a friend-"

"Topanga" Cory said warningly. "We agreed about this."

"No you said I was going to talk about him and just expected me to listen. That doesn't count as an agreement."

Cory looked at Riley and then back at Topanga. "Can we talk in the hallway?"

"Sure" Topanga said, smiling unhappily at him.

Riley watched as the walked out the door into the hallway. She could faintly hear them arguing quietly about someone named Shawn and how there was no fight, Cory was just being an ass. She tuned them out when they started talking about someone named Eric.

Riley jumped when he phone buzzed beside her. She picked it up, looking at who the text was from. It was Maya. She wanted Riley to know that she'd gotten her phone and they could text again.

Riley smiled. She was about to reply when another text came in, it was a picture text. Riley opened it excitedly.

It was a selfie, which was odd because Maya never took selfies. Maya was holding out her phone smiling at the two little blond children asleep on her chest. Riley looked closer noticing that they were about Auggie's age, one a boy and the other a girl. Riley laughed at the text that followed, 'Look how cute my foster sibs are.'

"Auggie come here a minute." Riley called.

Auggie ran into the living room. "Where are Mommy and Daddy?" He asked looking around.

"Arguing in the hallway." Riley nodded at the door.

"Did Daddy say something stupid again?"

Riley paused, thinking for a moment. "I'm not actually sure what happened." She shrugged, waving her brother closer to her. "Come here. I want to take our picture."

"Why?"

"So Maya has something to show her foster siblings of us." Riley said, showing Auggie the picture Maya sent her.

"Okay" Auggie nodded, putting on his cheesy big picture grin.

Riley knelt down behind him and pulled him into a loose, one-armed hug. She smiled, holding her phone out in front of them, and took the picture.

She sent the picture to Maya. Telling her how adorable her foster siblings were and how she should show them the picture of Riley and Auggie.

'I will' Maya texted back.

Riley looked back at Maya's picture and how she seemed at ease in a way she hadn't in a while.

'Do you like it there?' Riley typed, hesitating over the send button before pressing it.

'I love it. It's nice to have people who understand what you're going through.' Maya replied.

'I'm glad you're happy' Riley said. She could feel the sadness creeping back into her body.

'I am'

Riley didn't know how to reply. She was about to put her phone down when she got another text.

Maya said, 'You're still my best friend though Rils'

Riley smiled, pulling her knees to her chest. 'You too'

()()()()

**A/N: Again sorry for the wait, hopefully the next chapter won't take so long. Also if anyone is curious about what happened in the 14 years since Boy Meets World in relation to my verse let me know, maybe I write it out and post it on my tumblr.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	5. Chapter 5

It had been almost a week since Maya's arrival at the Hunter-Matthews home. She was starting to settle into her new life and today she would be starting her new school.

Maya paced nervously around her room, trying to find an outfit that she felt would make a good first impression. She was pulled from her pacing by a knock at the door.

"Maya breakfast is almost ready." Shawn called from the other side.

"I'll be down soon, just getting ready for school." Maya said, finally settling on an outfit she was comfortable with.

"Whenever you're done."

Maya listened to Shawn walk away. She went through her regular morning routine and packed her new backpack. After she felt slightly more prepared she made her way downstairs.

Most of the family was in the kitchen already. Morgan was at the stove putting the finishing touches on the eggs with Eric finishing the bacon. Rachel was braiding Charlie's hair, while Charlie ate a piece of toast. Levi, Lyric, and Benjamin were watching cartoons on the small television on the counter, the one that was only used before meals started.

Maya helped Eric and Morgan bring the food to the table before sitting next to Levi. She put a little food on her plate but she was too nervous to eat much, mostly pushing the food around. A few minutes later Jack walked upstairs from their basement apartment with Kyle on hip.

"Kyle's got a fever Rach." He said, tapping his forehead to the little boy's.

"Aw, my poor baby." Rachel said, taking him from Jack. "Why don't we go back to bed?" Kyle nodded. "Alright then." She turned back to the table. "Have a good day at school everyone, and I hope you enjoy your new school Maya."

"Thanks" Maya said quietly.

"Bye everyone." Jack said, kissing the top of Charlie's head. "Good luck Maya." He waved, walking out to his car to go to work.

"Right" Maya whispered to herself. "Luck"

"You'll do great." Eric said, squeezing her hand. "I'm sure."

Maya nodded, trying not to feel anxious about starting from square one. She would have new teachers and really no one that she knows yet. She'd have to make friends all over and that wasn't exactly easy the first time.

"You be good." Levi said, smiling at Maya.

"Yeah, I'll be good." Maya rubbed his head.

"That reminds me buddy." Eric said looking at Levi. "You have speech this afternoon. Daddy's gonna take you because I have to work late."

"Follow ups?" Maya asked.

Eric shook his head. "I work the case load for a foster family with one parent and three kids, but the parent has been diagnosed with a degenerative disorder."

"What's that Papa?" Lyric asked loudly, leaning over her cousin.

"It means that it gets worse." Eric said, straightening his tie. "We just need to have a meeting."

Shawn walked into the room drawing everyone's attention away from Eric.

"Morning." Shawn said, holding a squirmy Eden close to his chest. Everyone replied in turn.

"Let me get the formula." Morgan said, jumping up.

"Want to try the applesauce again?" Eric asked, standing to take Eden.

"Maybe this afternoon, but for now we'll stick with formula." Shawn said, handing her to Eric.

Morgan handed Eric the bottle, letting him feed Eden.

"Ready Maya?" Shawn asked. Maya nodded, getting up from the table. He turned his attention to the twins. "You two be good for Auntie Morgan, she's driving you to school today." They nodded as he kissed the tops of their heads. "Goodbye" He waved walking out to the car.

"Bye" Maya said quickly, following Shawn to the car.

It was a short, quiet ride to Maya's new school. She was getting more nervous the closer they got.

"It'll be okay Maya." Shawn said comfortingly, as the parked in front of the school. "It might take some getting used to but I'm sure it'll get easier."

Maya nodded still slightly unconvinced, but this was what she had to do if she was going to stay with this family. She took a deep breath, "Okay."

"Ready?" He asked nodding toward the school.

"Let's do it." Maya said, getting some of her old self back. She opened the car door and started toward the school.

Shawn laughed, following with her finished transfer paperwork. They walked into the office together, where the principal was waiting for them already.

The principal was a tall, dark skinned woman with dark hair pulled into a high ponytail. She had kind, brown eyes and seemed to be about Shawn's age. Despite seeming young she looked extremely professional and well dressed.

"Mr. Hunter" The principal said, nodding at him cordially.

"Mrs. Tuttle" Shawn said with the same formality.

They both laughed, causing Maya to look at them in confusion.

"Shawn" Mrs. Tuttle said, pulling him into a hug. "How's everything?"

"Great, how about you Angie?" He asked, pulling away from her enough to see her face.

"Also great. Kevin and I are expecting." She rubbed her stomach.

"Angela that's fantastic news." Shawn said, hugging her again. "I'm so happy for you."

"I know. It's so exciting." Angela said with a laugh. "I'm going to a mom. Who'd have thought it?"

"Me" Shawn laughed. "You'll be a great mom."

"Aw, thanks Shawnie." Angela smiled widely.

Maya shuffled awkwardly in the background, catching the adults attention. Angela turned toward Maya, extending her hand. "Sorry about that, just catching up with an old friend. You must be Maya Hart."

"Yeah" Maya said, shaking the woman's hand.

"I'm the principal of this school. You can call me Mrs. Tuttle or Mrs. T." She said grabbing a sheet of paper from behind the desk. "We have a policy that new students are shown around by a small welcoming comity."

"Okay…" Maya said uncertainly.

Angela double-checked the paper before handing it to Maya. "This is your class schedule. The girls I have asked to show you around should be here very soon."

As she said this three girls, all Maya's age, walked into the office in single file. They were all wearing badges that said 'Welcome from…' and their names. The leader's badge read Raeleigh, the middle girl's read Hailie, and the girl in the back's said Kaylee.

Raeleigh was the first to step forward. She had caramel colored skin and chocolate brown eyes. Her curly hair was held back by a striped, green headband. She stopped in front of Maya, making it noticeable how much taller that Raeleigh was, but that could have been the boots she was wearing.

Raeleigh smiled widely at Maya, shaking her hand. "I'm Raeleigh." She said in a welcoming voice. "We're glad you're gonna be our new classmate." She faced the girl behind her, "Isn't that right Hails?"

Hailie nodded, stepping forward. Hailie was very thin and small with slightly tanned skin. She had neatly braided black hair that nearly reached her mid-back and hazel, olive shaped eyes. She was shorter that Maya but she held herself with a purpose that made her seem taller.

"Hailie Ming." She said, shaking Maya's hand. "It's nice to meet you." She waved Kaylee forward.

Kaylee stepped forward. She was extremely pale with little patches of freckles on her cheeks. Her auburn hair was pulled into a high ponytail and her bright blue eyes were hidden behind her thick-rimmed glasses. She was as tall as Maya but the way she held herself and the oversized sweatshirt she was wearing made her seem smaller. "Hello, I'm Kaylee." She said quietly.

"Don't mind Kayl. She's just a little shy." Raeleigh said, throwing an arm around Kaylee. "How about we show you around the school?" Raeleigh turned to the principal. "If that's okay with you of course Mrs. T."

"Go on." Angela waved them away. "Have good first day Ms. Hart. And you three take care of her."

"We will." Raeleigh said, leading Maya out the door with the Hailie and Kaylee following close behind.

The rest of the day was a mix of tours with the welcoming comity, who turned out to be really nice, and getting settled in her classes. All of that made the day fly by, before Maya knew it the bell was ringing and the day was over.

Shawn was waiting for her where he said he'd be. Maya still was completely used to being part of a family that kept their promises. It was actually really nice.

"How was your day?" Shawn asked, as she slid into the car.

"Pretty good. I've got a lot of homework though." Maya said, looking at her backpack.

"That's okay. We're here to help if you need it." Shawn said, offering Maya another thing that had never been offered in her home, Riley's yes but her's no.

"Thanks" Maya said with a smile.

"Did meet any nice people?" Shawn asked, pulling onto the main road.

"The welcoming girls were nice and there were a few people in my classes." Maya said, realizing how much she missed Riley, Farkle, and even Lucas.

"It'll take some time to make new friends and I'm sure your old friends would like to visit occasionally." Shawn said, implying that she could have friends over.

"I could really invite them?" Maya asked in disbelief.

"If it's okay with their parents."

"You're the best." Maya pulled out her phone and started to text her friends that they needed to find a day they could all get together again.

"I just know how hard it is to lose your best friend to the choices you makes." Shawn said, quietly enough that Maya didn't seem to hear it.

()()()()

**A/N: The offer for a post about what happened in the 14 years since Boy Meets World in relation to my verse is still open if anyone wants; just let me know. **

**Edit: The history post has been done at: post/100725823287/foster-the-girl-verse-history**

**Thanks for reading.**


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